In Seattle, farmer launches a garden within the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP)

As Black Lives Matter demonstrations in Seattle evolved into the sustained rally known as the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (formerly CHAZ, now CHOP), farmer Marcus Henderson inadvertently launched a gardening initiative within it. It all started with a single basil plant, which Henderson planted in Cal Anderson Park, adjacent to the CHOP. Before long, other supporters started farming, donations of compost poured in, and the garden now holds 50 plants. It has also become a symbol for land access and self-sufficiency. (As we’ve reported, there are significant racial disparities in farmland ownership—a consequence of racist USDA policies.) “As we move through these times, where we’re trying to challenge the system,” Henderson says in a Crosscut profile, “having the ability to support yourself gives you that power.”